Press releases/Sue Gardner

December 3 - St. Petersburg, FL- The Wikimedia Foundation today announced the appointment of Sue Gardner as its Executive Director, effective immediately.

Gardner has worked with the Foundation since July 2007, when she was brought in as a consultant and special advisor to the board of trustees.

“This is great news. Sue has been extremely effective in her time with us already, and we look forward to her continued leadership. There are great things ahead for the Wikimedia Foundation,” said Florence Devouard, chair of the Board of Trustees.

“It’s an exciting time for the Foundation,” Sue Gardner said, “We’re on the cusp of moving to San Francisco, we’re hiring new staff, and we're going to be working closely with like-minded organizations in the Bay Area. I am proud to take on this important and challenging role at such an interesting time.”

Prior to joining Wikimedia, Gardner was head of CBC.CA, the website of Canada’s national public broadcaster, and that country’s largest and most popular news site. Under her leadership, CBC.CA more than doubled its audience, and won dozens of international awards. Prior to running CBC.CA, Gardner was a journalist for 10 years, producing documentaries and talk programming primarily for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, and also for organizations such as the British Broadcasting Corporation and National Public Radio.

Gardner’s appointment comes in the midst of the Wikimedia Foundation’s annual fundraiser, which runs from October 22nd to December 23rd. For more information about the fundraiser, please visit http://wikimediafoundation.org/wiki/Fundraising.